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Senior Night Silver Lining
by Drew Formentini,posted Mar 2 2011 11:05PM
In a word, Senior night this evening against St. Louis was dreadful.
The Flyers (19-11, 7-8) lacked punch from the tip, were manhandled for most of the game on the glass and were unable to overcome the offensive onslaught delivered by the Bilikens (12-17, 6-9) who entered the game with only one player (Mike McCall) averaging double-digit points (10). SLU entered the game with a lowly 1-9 record on the road. The 69-51 win was their largest margin of victory (18) over a conference opponent this year.
Much has been said over the past 4 years about Chris Wright, a local high school standout who has been a large part of UD’s success since donning the UD red and blue four years ago.
While less has been said of senior center Devin Searcy, he’s logged ample minutes and has at times provided a spark in the post.
Two guys you’ve probably heard little to nothing about are senior walk-ons Logan Nourse and Peter Zesterman.
Vital parts of the “Iron 5” scout team, Nourse and Zesterman have dedicated hundreds of hours on the court and in the film room to challenge their teammates everyday at practice. Both are in their third season as walk-ons.
“I wouldn’t trade any minute of it for anything else in the world and I’m happy that I got the opportunity to be a part of something so great,” said Zesterman.
Now that’s selfless.
Nourse added: “It’s a privilege to be a part of this program.”
Without these types of dedicated, self-motivated and hard-working individuals, UD’s program would not be at the level it’s at today. Guys who don’t mind being overlooked and underappreciated, as long as the team succeeds, are the real heart and soul of a team.
“We get to go out there everyday and compete,” said Nourse. “It’s important. As a whole, it takes a team.”
Having gotten to know these guys over the past two years, there’s no questioning the sincerity in their words. They’re honest guys who are as good of people as they are teammates.
And even though few will look back years from now and talk about how impressive Nourse’s assist was against Florida A&M or how high Zesterman skied for those two rebounds against Fordham, it doesn’t diminish their importance to the program.
Day after day, they put the team ahead of themselves.
